Lincoln City midfielder Jack Moylan has been called up by Ireland for their upcoming friendly against Qatar.
Moylan made his debut against Grenada a week ago and became the first Irish international to open with a hat trick since David Kelly in 1989. Kelly went on to be picked for Euro 1988, as well as the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups.
Moylan can’t be called up to the World Cup, as Ireland were eliminated in the play-off phase, but he has had the call to join the squad for what should have been warm-up games for the 2026 competition, against qualifiers Qatar and Canada. Originally, he had been omitted by Heimir Hallgrímsson, but he was kept on standby.
Now, Middlesbrough duo Alan Browne and Alex Gilbert are out injured, while Southampton pair Finn Azaz and Ryan Manning have also been forced to withdraw. That means Moylan has been called up for the home friendly.
Moylan will now have to cancel any immediate summer plans, as he is likely to be a squad member as they face Qatar. Ireland also face Canada, with both sides in Group B, this summer. They’re in a group with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland, which looks like whatever the opposite of the Group of Death would normally be.
Qatar will visit the Aviva Stadium this Thursday at 7:45 pm, a game now likely to attract some Imps’ attention. Other players in the Irish squad include Troy Parrott, Benfica striker Jaden Umeh, and Premier League defender Seamus Coleman. Qatar are 55th in the FIFA world rankings, four places above Ireland.
Moylan currently will not fly out to the Saputo Stadium in Canada, where the World Cup hosts will wait. Canada are one of three teams to qualify automatically for the competition, and the Saputo Stadium has only once been used for an international, the hosts beating Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4-1 in 2010. Canada could include UK-based players such as Cyle Larin (Southampton), Liam Millar (Hull City) and Junior Hoilett (Swindon Town).
If Moylan were to appear against Qatar, it would take him ahead of Jeff Hughes and David Felgate in terms of international appearances for a British Isles country, and move him close to Gareth McAuley, the most-capped player for one of the five British Isles nations while playing for the Imps.
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